Products susceptible to spoilage, such as processed foods, nuts and sliced fruits and vegetables, are often placed in hermetically sealed packaging which has been flushed with an inert gas, such as nitrogen or argon, to achieve an oxygen concentration within the packaging of less than about 3% and thereby prolong the shelf-life of the product. Such packaging is commonly known as controlled atmosphere packaging (CAP) or modified atmosphere packaging (MAP).
Insufficient flushing of the atmosphere within the packaging and/or leaks in the packaging can significantly reduce the anticipated shelf life, resulting in undesired spoilage. Hence, proper quality control efforts for CAP/MAP typically involve at least periodic testing of packaging to determine the oxygen content within the hermetically sealed packaging and the presence of any leaks in the packaging.
A variety of instruments and methods for analyzing the oxygen concentration within the headspace of CAP/MAP are known to those skilled in the art, including the PAC CHECK® series of oxygen headspace analyzers offered by MOCON, Inc. of Minneapolis, Minn. Briefly, these instruments involve puncturing a sample package with a hollow needle through which a sample of the headspace gases can be withdrawn for analysis by an oxygen sensor. See, U.S. Pat. No. 5,212,993 issued to William Mayer, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
A variety of instruments and methods are also known for leak detection in hermetically sealed packaging. Leak detection typically involves the creation of a pressure differential between the pressure inside the packaging (internal pressure) and the pressure outside the packaging (external pressure)—such as by compressing the packaging or pulling a vacuum in the atmosphere surrounding the packaging, followed by the detection of any change in a given variable which could be correlated to the presence of a leak in the packaging. Specific examples include submersion of the packaging into a liquid and detecting any liquid within the packaging (U.S. Pat. No. 6,763,702 issued to Allen Chien et al.), squeezing of the packaging and detecting of any pressure decay (U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,524 issued to Frank Raspante et al.), squeezing the packaging and detecting any volume decay (U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,385 issued to William Frievalt) and placing the packaging within a vacuum chamber and detecting any loss of vacuum (U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,605 issued to Edwin Simpson).
While each of these instruments and techniques are generally effective for analyzing the oxygen concentration within hermetically sealed packaging, or detecting leaks in hermetically sealed packaging, a substantial need continues to exist for (i) a quick, easy, inexpensive and accurate instrument and technique for detecting leaks in hermetically sealed packaging, and (ii) an instrument and technique capable of providing both an accurate analysis of the oxygen concentration within hermetically sealed packaging and the detection of any leaks in the hermetically sealed packaging using the same individual package and using a single integrated instrument to conduct both tests.